My Story
I wish I could count the times I have almost had an auto accident because I was looking at houses, buildings, properties or construction sites. Or the times my family would not acknowledge that they knew me because I would walk right up to a house to touch it, or pull into a drive way marked private. I have walked through rodent infested buildings, looked at mold covered walls, picked my way through structurally questionable spaces and yes, gone into “not so safe” neighborhoods just to see a building, I just had to see it. Why? Passion! The passion for making old new again.
There is an excitement that comes from the challenge of seeing what every building has to offer, it’s history, use-past & present, it’s architecture and design. No matter the state of disrepair, deterioration and, or out-of-date design and functionality, I always ask myself “how I can bring it back to life”? You must be wondering if it is always worth it? To answer your question, yes. Every building deserves a chance for review but there are some that cannot be brought back. And those buildings should be deconstructed thoughtfully as to reclaim as much material for reuse as possible.
So, whether I am buying a property for my own investment, or someone else, designing and rebuilding for others I make it my mission to look at every building to understand its past and to plan for its future and most important fully understand who and what is driving the need for change.
By following a set of guidelines, I give my clients and myself the best possible outcomes.
- I am my toughest client and if it is not good enough for me, it is not good enough for you.
- Have I done my research and due diligence?
- Will the project result in increased value?
- Have I looked at every available option?
- Have I got the best cost for the work?
- Am I on schedule, am I on budget, am I within scope?
- Not every project requires a full rebuild.
- Not every client requires all areas of my service, ala-cart is fine.
- Am I being environmentally responsible?
- Have a truly heard what my client wants and expects?
- Have I outlined those expectations in writing and gained my clients agreement?
- Finally, communicate, communicate, communicate.